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So now that I have her running good I am trying to get some ideas to give her a little more pep in the step. I was wondering what kind of ideas people had to improve performance. I would love to take that stock 189hp up over 220hp if I can. Let me know what you think and where I should go to look at aftermarket parts.

1. Chips.
2. Hot cams and headers and (ideally) and chip with a tune just for this setup. The M3 cams would be the hot cams for the m50 engines.
3. Top overhaul with decarbonisation of the head.
4. Turbo or supercharging.
5. Change of rear differential to ratios which improve low end acceleration.
6. Engine transplant.

Just sell it and buy a 535i, same car 208hp stock, easy 220 with a chip, more torque which works well with heavier cars.

Or buy a 540i for more power yet.

Unless you are going turbo, I don't think I would mod that car much. If it is an automatic I would definately sell it and find a better starting point.

Headers, chip and cams will bring the power up the rev range, and make a better number but it will probably cost you 2 grand if you do all the work. Like everybody is telling you, that money could be better spent. Good Luck

I think everybody misunderstands. Not trying to make a race car.....yet. (When I do I will definitely be looking for an S38 engine or start with a 535i). I'm just trying to give the car I have now a better feel in the pedal. I do any work myself. So I was looking at chipping, intake manifold (heard you could swap this from another motor to improve power), and exhaust. I didn't want to get crazy just a fuller feeling out of the pedal.

I think everybody misunderstands. Not trying to make a race car.....yet. (When I do I will definitely be looking for an S38 engine or start with a 535i). I'm just trying to give the car I have now a better feel in the pedal. I do any work myself. So I was looking at chipping, intake manifold (heard you could swap this from another motor to improve power), and exhaust. I didn't want to get crazy just a fuller feeling out of the pedal.

You have not tuned your engine as yet. Diesel flush the crankcase, run water/ethanol mix through the brake booster fitting, use 4 claw spark plugs or brisk silver spark plugs, run 1-3 quarts of diesel in your tank mixed immediately with a full tank of regular to clean out your fuel system, change/clean your air filter and fuel filter, use carb cleaner to ensure that your throttle body is free of carbon, make sure there are no vacuum leaks and no problems with the valve cover gasket, make sure that your rear diff and transmission oil is not dirty, use good thicker oil 40 or 50 weight to improve sealing in your engine, inflate the tires properly, go for a few WOT runs, and then see what your car feels like.

Make sure your tensioners and belts are tight and your pulleys are secure. Spray fan belt spray everywhere for good measure. Remove the fan clutch (test your aux fan first on both settings to confirm that it works perfectly, details in the Bentley manual). Then drive and see what your car feels like.

You have not tuned your engine as yet. Diesel flush the crankcase, run water/ethanol mix through the brake booster fitting, use 4 claw spark plugs or brisk silver spark plugs, run 1-3 quarts of diesel in your tank mixed immediately with a full tank of regular to clean out your fuel system, change/clean your air filter and fuel filter, use carb cleaner to ensure that your throttle body is free of carbon, make sure there are no vacuum leaks and no problems with the valve cover gasket, make sure that your rear diff and transmission oil is not dirty, use good thicker oil 40 or 50 weight to improve sealing in your engine, inflate the tires properly, go for a few WOT runs, and then see what your car feels like.

Make sure your tensioners and belts are tight and your pulleys are secure. Spray fan belt spray everywhere for good measure. Remove the fan clutch (test your aux fan first on both settings to confirm that it works perfectly, details in the Bentley manual). Then drive and see what your car feels like.

Then decide if needs any boosting.

You forgot checking the blinker fluid... Who told you the above procedure was a good idea? I wouldn't reccomend people do most of what you listed. Changing fluids and filters is one thing but some of your "flush" concoctions would never be run through my engine. Fan belt spray, seriously? I would go for fresh belts if needed but spray everywhere for good measure? Interesting.

The fact is, most BMW models come from the factory wound pretty tight. Seeking more power without boost just moves the power up the rev range where it is generally of less use to you. If you want a faster car, buy a faster one. You will spend 2-3k and be sorry you did so. Pony up 5k for the turbo and you will be more than satisfied.

You forgot checking the blinker fluid... Who told you the above procedure was a good idea? I wouldn't reccomend people do most of what you listed. Changing fluids and filters is one thing but some of your "flush" concoctions would never be run through my engine. Fan belt spray, seriously? I would go for fresh belts if needed but spray everywhere for good measure? Interesting.

The fact is, most BMW models come from the factory would pretty tight. Seeking more power without boost just moves the power up the rev range where it is generally of less use to you. If you want a faster car, buy a faster one. You will spend 2-3k and be sorry you did so. Pony up 5k for the turbo and you will be more than satisfied.

This...Also good luck finding an s38, you'd be better off finding an s50 or s52 (out of an e36 m3).

You forgot checking the blinker fluid... Who told you the above procedure was a good idea? I wouldn't reccomend people do most of what you listed. Changing fluids and filters is one thing but some of your "flush" concoctions would never be run through my engine. Fan belt spray, seriously? I would go for fresh belts if needed but spray everywhere for good measure? Interesting.
.

1. Try something before you knock it. Its the only way you'll snap out of the hypnosis of conditioning that we all fall victim to frequently.

2. I've been doing all those flushes for some years now with nothing adverse to my engine. I doesn't improve the performance now anymore admittedly, because I do have a clean engine.

3. The fan belt spray thing was something entirely new that I discovered by accident a few short months ago. Even if you don't have squeeking anywhere and even if your belts and tensioners appear to be working perfectly and are relatively new, use some of that spray on the belts according to the instructions on the can, and then go for a drive. You will see a difference - most people do. We can speculate as to why it works that way later.

If you must spend money on it recondition brakes suspension and steering - then get a 4 wheel alignment. Set up correctly you should get much better cornering and have to slow down less - looking faster.

If you must spend money on it recondition brakes suspension and steering - then get a 4 wheel alignment. Set up correctly you should get much better cornering and have to slow down less - looking faster.

We can only do 2 wheel alignments on the E34. The rear wheels are dead. But its a good idea to get their camber readings read, recorded and checked against the bentley manual for correctness. Alot of people here have lowered suspensions and its good to check since readings for lowered suspensions are stated in the manual as well.

We can only do 2 wheel alignments on the E34. The rear wheels are dead. But its a good idea to get their camber readings read, recorded and checked against the bentley manual for correctness. Alot of people here have lowered suspensions and its good to check since readings for lowered suspensions are stated in the manual as well.

While the only adjustment on (non-M) E34's is the front toe, a 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT can produce specs to tell if your rear bushing are worn/bent/out of spec...and the 4 corner reflectors make sure the whole body is square for the toe adjustment. I wouldn't pay much more than $50 for this service, but I do appreciate the extra effort on my alignment guy's part just to make sure it's perfect. My alignment guy also let ME sit in the driver's seat as he did the alignment and properly weighted the other seats. This is important (weighting the car during alignment)

PS-the alignment spec for 'lowered cars' in the manual is for Mtech and ///M5 suspension. If you are lower than Mtech, different settings may be required.

While the only adjustment on (non-M) E34's is the front toe, a 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT can produce specs to tell if your rear bushing are worn/bent/out of spec...and the 4 corner reflectors make sure the whole body is square for the toe adjustment. I wouldn't pay much more than $50 for this service, but I do appreciate the extra effort on my alignment guy's part just to make sure it's perfect. My alignment guy also let ME sit in the driver's seat as he did the alignment and properly weighted the other seats. This is important (weighting the car during alignment)

Point taken about the 4 wheels, but could you elaborate how a 4 wheel job will reveal if the rear suspension bushings are out of whack, and if so, will it identify which ones are off specifically ?

And how does sitting in the car affect alignment (please share)? Wasn't that a requirement published at the time when laser computer alignment machines were not available and less accurate stuff was used ? Is it required now with modern technology ?

Point taken about the 4 wheels, but could you elaborate how a 4 wheel job will reveal if the rear suspension bushings are out of whack, and if so, will it identify which ones are off specifically ?

It won't necessarily diagnose WHAT parts are bad...but it WOULD tell you that the rear is out of adjustment...

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertobaggio20

And how does sitting in the car affect alignment (please share)? Wasn't that a requirement published at the time when laser computer alignment machines were not available and less accurate stuff was used ? Is it required now with modern technology ?

You CAN align a car without weights...but if BMW suggests it, I listen almost 100% of the time. You aren't smarter than the engineers at multi-million dollar car company.

I will admit my source is Dinan as well...as I have the original alignment sheet from the Stage 2 suspension on my car (done at the Dinan facilities in Cali) and when I was looking at it, I started wondering things myself...so I researched...